


Marseilles - 10:32

by raexrae57



Series: Out of the Dark Universe [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - MAMA (Music Video), Alternate Universe - Pathcode Teasers, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 07:53:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11309004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raexrae57/pseuds/raexrae57
Summary: In the aftermath of the Labyrinths' fall, Jongdae and Joonmyun try for something more.





	Marseilles - 10:32

**Author's Note:**

> While this is the third work in this series, it takes place immediately after the events of Out of the Dark. Please read that one first.

**Marseilles - 10:32**

 

Jongdae flinches as Joonmyun's fingers graze his cheek.  It's over before he can scold Joonmyun about it being dangerous, but the aftermath lingers for longer.  His cheek is warm, millions of electric sparks rushing to the surface to shock the water that's no longer there.  The expression on Joonmyun's face isn't one of pain however, and suddenly Jongdae is curious.

 

He reaches out with fingers of his own, itching to touch Joonmyun the he's wanted to for years.  Just one touch, he tells himself.

 

This touch is over just as fast, but instead of pleasant warmth and tingles it's a jolt, harsh and angry.  Jongdae withdraws his hand away faster than he put it against Joonmyun's skin, eyes wide with fear as Joonmyun yelps and recoils slightly.  He's cradling his cheek, looking at Jongdae with eyes that should read pain, but only read sadness.

 

"I'm sorry...I thought-"

 "Jongdae, I'm fine.  We're fine."

 "I _shocked_ you," Jongdae yelled.  "How can you say you're fine?!"

 "Because it didn't kill me, Dae."

 "But it can," Jongdae deflated.  " _I_ can."

 

 Jongdae felt the extra charge underneath his skin.  It threatened to break free, and if one touch could hurt...

 

 He rose to his feet quickly.  "I'm sorry, hyung.  I have....I have to go."

 "Jongdae, wait-"

 

 He doesn't stop running, not bothering to wait even as Joonmyun continues to call after him.  He stumbles his way out of the pool and rushes back inside the house, not looking back over his shoulder to see if anyone is following.  In his rush to get away, he misses what's in front of him and crashes roughly into Yixing.

 

 "Jongdae, what's wrong?"

 "I-I touched him."

 Yixing quirked an eyebrow.  "Touched who?"

 "Joonmyun," Jongdae pants.  "We were sitting in the pool and he touched me first-"

 "Jongdae, slow down."

 "-so I thought it was okay, but it wasn't and I hurt him!"

 Yixing tensed.  "Is he okay?"

 "Yeah, but..."

 Yixing sighed and relaxed again.  "Don't scare me like that..."

 

 Yixing calls out for Kyungsoo and guides Jongdae further into the house, passing him off when he rounds the corner.

 

 "Kyungsoo, calm him down.  I need to go check on Joonmyun."

 "What happened?"

 "Probably nothing, but he's riled up anyways.  I'm sure he needs to discharge."

 

 Kyungsoo nods and reaches out for Jongdae, immediately feeling the pins and needles under his skin as Jongdae grounds himself.  Deeming it safe, Yixing leaves and makes his way over to Joonmyun, hopping into the deep end of the empty pool where Joonmyun is stock-still.

 

 He sits down beside his leader and sighs.  "He's fine, you know."

 "He ran away from me."

 "He's scared, hyung.  I would have run away, too."

 "What?"

 Yixing's eyes soften as he looks at Joonmyun.  "You touched him first right?  With mild success?  Well he was expecting the same result and when he didn't get it he spooked."

 "He didn't hurt me though."

 "It doesn't matter.  Anyone with powers like theirs are going to act the same.  Like how Chanyeol's touch is one shade too hot, or Minseok's one shade too cold.  It doesn't matter whether it hurt the other person, it matters that their unconsciously capable of it."

 "I'm supposed to be the leader," Joonmyun jokes, although it comes out slightly bitter.  "How did you come to all of this?"

 "You know all this too, hyung.  You're just trying to get closer to Jongdae and you forgot."  Joonmyun nods, but doesn't say anything else.  Yixing takes this as an opportunity to continue.  "You crossed a line that you two subconsciously made for yourselves.  Water and electricity don't mix, everyone knows that, and so you made that line as to not risk anything.  Well, you risked it, and he tried to as well with unwanted results."

 "What do I do?"

 "Baby steps, hyung," Yixing smiles.  "Give him time, and space, and then talk to him."

 

 ~~~

 

 When they enter the house again, Jongdae is curled up with his head in Kyungsoo's lap.  The skin around his eyes look raw and puffy, abused from tears that Joonmyun wasn't here to see.  Kyungsoo looks up from where he's petting Jongdae's hair and gives them a pitying look.

 

 "He fell asleep after he grounded himself," Kyungsoo supplies.  "He took whatever happened between you two pretty hard, I think.  The more he kept talking about it the more charged he was getting.  I finally had to tell him to shut up."

 Joonmyun's shoulders dropped with a sigh.  "Thank you."

 "You'll get it figured out, hyung."

 "I know, but..."  Joonmyun ruffles his hair as he tries to get the right words.

"...but?" Yixing prompted.

"It's not fair," Joonmyun finally gives, voice slightly weak.  "He's the only one I can't help.  I want to be the one to comfort him, and I can't even touch him without him over-charging himself."

"Hyung..."

Joonmyun shakes his head.  "Time and space, right?  I'll be in my room."

"Hyung, don't do this-"

"Don't do what, Yixing," Joonmyun cuts off.

"Don't lock yourself away," Yixing's eyes look like they're pleading.  "We all need you."

Joonmyun looks hurt as he speaks.  "I need you all too, but the one I want the most I can't have."  Joonmyun looks to Jongdae, who hasn't stirred since he walked in.  "Let the others know what happened, but I need to be alone right now."

 

He leaves no room for argument as he walks past the others and into the master bedroom.  The lock on the door clicks loudly, and Yixing ruffles his hair in frustration.

 

"He wasn't like this outside," Yixing explains.

"I always got the feeling he was jealous of me," Kyungsoo adds.  "Not that he really meant it, but whenever Jongdae needed to discharge he always had a look of fascination and jealousy about him.  It's probably just boiled over now that he's tried to push past that wall of theirs."

"I hate when he shuts himself off like that though," Yixing groans as he points towards Joonmyun's door.  "I know he wants to help everyone, Jongdae included, but we can't help him if he holds himself up like this."

"He'll come around."

 

Jongdae stirs and Kyungsoo stops petting his hair as the other slowly sits himself up.

 

"Good morning, sunshine."  Kyungsoo smiles and gently tugs at Jongdae's hair before withdrawing his hand completely.

Jongdae swats Kyungsoo's hand away.  "How long was I asleep?"

"About twenty minutes.  Not too long."

"Did Joonmyun...?"

"Joonmyun is in his room," Yixing answers as he sits on Jongdae's other side.  "He's a little upset, but he's fine.  You didn't hurt him."

Jongdae sighs and slumps against the healer.  "I didn't mean to make him upset..."

"We know," Kyungsoo says.

"Am I interrupting something?"

 

 The trio looks over their shoulders and meets eyes with Lu Han.  Jongdae shrugs his shoulders as Lu Han moved closer to join them.

 

"Something felt off, so I wanted to come down and check..." Lu Han trails off, almost sounding unsure of himself.

"Jongdae and Joonmyun had a.....moment, so to speak."  Yixing looks to Jongdae, hoping he'll fill in the blanks.

"Oh?"  Lu Han shifts his weight closer to the others.

When Jongdae doesn't speak up, Yixing continues.  "Long story short, they touched.  Joonmyun is fine, but Jongdae here got a little spooked."

"I have every right to get a little spooked!"  Sparks of electricity flit off Jongdae's skin as he gets riled up.

"Relax Dae," Lu Han's voice is very soothing.  "There's no need to get upset."

"At least you can touch your Bond," Jongdae spits out.  "I can't even get close enough to mine to even call him that."

 "What, you think Minseok and I had it easy?"

 

The sparks around Jongdae fizzle out even though the tension in the room is higher than before Lu Han came in.  Lu Han gives Yixing and Kyungsoo a look, and they take the hint and leave the room.  Yixing mumbles something about finding the others before becoming completely out of earshot.

 

 "Anyone with an elemental power has problems, Jongdae.  You aren't any different than the others."

"You aren't exactly an elemental opposite to Minseok."

"Minseok could still kill me.  It'd be so easy for him to just plunge me into hypothermia."

"But he doesn't."

"And it took us years to get to that point."  Jongdae visibly flinches and Lu Han sighs.  "Look, I know you're scared.  That's completely normal, but if you continue to be scared you aren't going to overcome this barrier between the two of you."

"I don't want to kill him."

"You aren't going to, Jongdae.  And while that's the hardest thing you're going to have to overcome, once you do it'll be so much easier."

"How do I do that?"

Lu Han ruffles Jongdae's hair.  "You should talk to Minseok about that.  Chanyeol, too."

 

Word spreads around fast, however, and the main room is flooded with other members of their group.  Everyone is talking over one another, wanting answers about what happened, and suddenly all Jongdae wants to do is escape like Joonmyun essentially did.  So he does.  He excuses himself and runs upstairs and locks himself in his room.  Lu Han rolls his eyes.

 

“Way to go, guys.  He had just calmed down.”

Jongin at least looks guilty.  “Sorry…”

Sehun, however, does not.  “This is a big deal!  They’ve been trying to get close for years!”

Chanyeol nods in agreement.  “We can’t help but feel excited for them.  How’d it go?”

Lu Han gives Chanyeol a pointed look.  “You, of all people, should know how their first touch went.”

Chanyeol looks confused for a second before it clicks.  “Oh…”

Sehun looks between the two of them.  “What?  Tell us!” 

Lu Han is only getting more irritated.  “What, did you all just run down here after Yixing told you they touched?”

 

Sehun opens his mouth to answer, but pauses when another pair of feet come down the stairs.

 

“Han?”

Lu Han visibly relaxes.  “Min…” 

Minseok bypasses everyone and stops in front of Lu Han.  “You okay?” 

“Did Yixing or Kyungsoo tell you?”

“Yeah, but I felt you getting angrier by the second and I came to check…”

 

That get’s Sehun to finally shut up, and when Lu Han looks over Minseok’s shoulder he actually looks guilty.  He isn’t sure if Minseok knows why he’s irritated, but bless him for calling it out loud enough for Sehun to hear.

 

“It’ll be okay.  These three dumbs ran out on Yixing before they got the full story.  Chanyeol realizes what’s going on, but Jongin and Sehun do not.”

Minseok sighs.  “I see.”  He turns to look at Sehun and Jongin.  “Jongdae shocked Joonmyun.”

Sehun and Jongin both gasp.  “Oh…”

Lu Han ignores the youngest two in favor of looking at Chanyeol.  “Will you go to Jongdae?  He could probably use someone with….experience in this.”

“Yeah, sure.”

 

Chanyeol takes off after Jongdae and Lu Han relaxes completely into his seat.  Minseok steps further into his space to thread his fingers into his hair.

 

“Okay?”

“Yeah, now.”

 

They miss Sehun and Jongin escaping back upstairs.

 

~~~

 

Chanyeol knocks on Jongdae’s door and is immediately greeted with a harsh “ _go away._ ”

“Jongdae?”

He hears him shuffle behind the door, but he’s still surprised when Jongdae actually opens the door for him.

“Chanyeol?”  Jongdae looks equally surprised.

“Hey.  Mind if we talk?”

 

It’s silent for a moment, silent to the point where Chanyeol thinks Jongdae is going to close the door on him, but he’s pleased when Jongdae opens the door further to let him in.  Jongdae throws himself face first back onto his bed, and Chanyeol takes a seat at the foot of the bed after closing the door behind him.

 

Chanyeol wastes no time.  “I know what you’re going through.”

“Lu Han told me as much.”

“Did he also tell you that I still feel that way?”

Jongdae sits up slowly and looks at Chanyeol.  “What?”

Chanyeol nods.  “Fire is….hard.  I imagine we’re similar in the same way that our internal cores are difficult to control one hundred percent of the time.”

“Yeah.”

“I know Baekhyun isn’t completely my elemental opposite, but I might be able to provide some insight.”

Jongdae worries his lip as he thinks over his words.  “How did you get past that fear?”

Chanyeol hums as he thinks about his answer.  “I’m not completely over it.  I don’t know if anyone ever does get over it.  It helps to think about the pros rather than all the cons.  If it means that I get to love Baekhyun completely, and he’s willing to risk a couple burns along the way, then I’m okay with it too.”

“Burns are a little different than a thousand volts to the chest.”

“You’re missing the point, Jongdae.”

“What point is there?”

“That if you think pursuing this is worth it, then you’ll find a way.”

Jongdae doesn’t say anything.

“I’m not saying it won’t be hard.  It’s going to be.  I’ve had moments where I’ve overheated and wasn’t able to touch Baekhyun for days.  He has scars from burns that I’ve left even after being super careful and I’ve felt guilty about it for months.  I can’t even count the times Yixing has had to repair his hands because his skin blistered just from holding my hand.”  Chanyeol takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.  “It’s so worth it though,” Chanyeol’s tone is a lot softer as he speaks.  “Those moments that go right, where I don’t burn him, feel so good...I can’t imagine never trying in the first place....”

 

Jongdae is silent, and Chanyeol chances a glance at him.  He has a vice grip on the sheets and there are tears rolling down his cheeks.  Chanyeol sighs and rubs up and down Jongdae’s back, hoping the extra heat he gives off will relax him some.  It does, thankfully, and he waits for Jongdae’s breathing to regulate again before speaking.

 

“Do you think he’s worth it?”

Jongdae hesitates, but he’s never been more sure with his answer.  “He’s worth everything to me…”

“Then you’ll figure it out, and everyone will be here to help.”

Jongdae nods.  “I need to talk to Joonmyun….”

“Go.  I need to check on Baekhyun anyways.”

“How...is he doing?”

Chanyeol sighs.  “I finally got him to sleep, but it’s only be a matter of time before he wakes up again.  I don’t think he’s slept a whole night through since we got here.  I know I haven’t.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.  We got them out as fast as we could, but the damage is already done.  I just have to be there when he wakes up to help put the pieces back together.”

 

Jongdae nods and sighs, not really knowing how to respond to that.  He doesn’t know what Chanyeol is going through, and he can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like for Baekhyun.  He stands up to leave, Chanyeol following after him and disappearing into his own room as he makes his way out of his room and back downstairs.  The stairs creak as he descends, and Lu Han breaks whatever moment he was having with Minseok to look at him.

 

“Feeling better?”

“Not...really.  I don’t mean to interrupt, I’m just going to talk to hyung.”

 

Minseok guides Lu Han’s attention back to him and Jongdae shuffles past them to knock on Joonmyun’s door.

 

“Hyung?  Can I come in?”

 

Jongdae thinks he hears something crash behind the door and he takes a step back when the door flies open.

 

“Dae?”  Joonmyun’s eyes are wide.

“Can I come in?”

 

Joonmyun holds the door open wider and lets Jongdae pass, closing the door behind him.  His eyes fix on Jongdae as he settles on his bed.

 

“Yixing said you needed space.  I wasn’t sure when you’d want to talk…”

“I think...we need to talk now.”

 

Joonmyun nods and sits on the opposite end of the bed as Jongdae.  Jongdae sighs and sits closer.

 

“Chanyeol came and talked to me.  He shared some of his history with Baekhyun.”  Even being this close to Joonmyun makes the currents roll under his skin.  The hairs on his arm stand on ends and he lets out a shaky breath as he tries to keep everything under control.

“What did he tell you?”

Jongdae chooses his words carefully.  “That it was a lot of work….getting to where they are now.”

“I’m sure it was…”

“He also said that he’s still scared to hurt him….but that in the long run, the positives outweighed the negatives….”

“Jongdae….”

“Just being this close leaves me feeling charged.”  The electricity continues to roll and his skin sparks.  Joonmyun cautiously moves a little further away.  “But I want this so bad.  I want to be able to sleep in the same bed, hold your hand during hard times, kiss you good morning and goodnight.  I want to do all the things that Minseok and Lu Han and Baekhyun and Chanyeol are able to do.

But I’m so scared, Joonmyun.  I’m scared of electrocuting you and no one be around to save you.  I’m scared of the current being too strong for me to handle one day and you becoming collateral damage.  I haven’t even gotten you yet, and I’m already scared of losing you.”

“I understand,” Joonmyun sighs.  He pauses for a minute, waiting to see if the sparks recede.  When they do, he speaks again.  “What do you want to do?”

“I….” Jongdae hesitates.  He bites his lip.  “I’m scared, hyung….”

“That’s not really an answer, Jongdae.  I’m scared too, but I won’t go any further if you don’t want to.”

 

Jongdae doesn’t say anything, only shuts his eyes tight and wills the electricity away.

 

“I know what you’re capable of Dae, but I don’t want to be your Bond any less.”  Joonmyun lets out a small, sad laugh.  “Not that we have a say in that, anyways.”

Jongdae cracks a weak smile and takes a big breath, letting it out slowly.  “Whatever we try to do, I want Yixing to be present….until I feel comfortable enough to not need him.”  He looks at Joonmyun and can see the hope flash across his features.

“But you want to try?”

Jongdae nods.  “Yeah, I want to try.”

 

Something akin to relief floods through Joonmyun.  His shoulders sag, and his eyes well with tears.  All the emotions that have been building today finally drain down his face, and as he wipes the tears away he knows he and Jongdae will figure it out.

 

~~~

 

The living room is full when they emerge from Joonmyun’s room twenty minutes later.  They still keep their distance, but they are noticeably closer than they usually are.  All eyes are on them.

 

“Is everything okay?”

“Joonmyun, you are the last person who should be asking that,” Minseok sighs.  “Is everything okay with you?”

Joonmyun looks to Jongdae and smiles.  “Yeah, everything is fine.”

“Everyone’s been told what happened,” Yixing explains, “but I think they’d all like to hear it from you.”

Joonmyun nods and takes a seat on the sofa, Jongdae sitting on the armrest beside him.  “Jongdae shocked me.  I’m fine.  The end.”

“Hyung, that’s not funny,” Sehun whined.

“Or hardly a story,” Baekhyun comments.  “I didn’t hear about any of this until ten minutes ago.  What’s going on?”

“Hyung and I are Bonds,” Jongdae provides.  “This isn’t exactly brand new information.  I went to check on him in the pool when he wandered off by himself and he ran his fingers over my cheek.  It tingled, but when I tried to reciprocate I shocked him.”

“We talked though,” Joonmyun adds, “and we’re going to work on physical contact.”

“Isn’t that dangerous,” Jongin asked.

Jongdae nodded.  “It is, but if Chanyeol and Minseok can make it work with their Bonds, we should at least try.”

“Jongdae has at least requested that Yixing be present for anything we do try,” Joonmyun continues as he turns to Yixing.  “As a safety net, until Jongdae feels like he has the electricity under control.”

Yixing nods.  “Absolutely.  When did you want to start?”

“Tonight,” Jongdae cuts in before Joonmyun can say otherwise.  “I want to get going as soon as possible, but I think we’ve had enough excitement for today.”

“Dae, I don’t know,” Joonmyun turns to him.  “It might be too soon.”

“No, hyung.  The sooner we can start the better.  I don’t want to lose the momentum you gained.”

“But--”

“I think,” Yixing interrupts, “this is good, hyung.  You should build on that momentum and get Jongdae up to where you are.  The more we get him used to you touching him, the better chances he’ll have of reciprocating.”

Joonmyun sighs.  “Fine.  Tonight.”

“In the meantime, you two should stick close just to get Jongdae on the path to adjusting how he controls himself.  You don’t have to touch, just be close.  I’ll be close by in case something happens, and Kyungsoo will be around to if you need to ground, Jongdae.”

 

Jongdae and Joonmyun nod, and the room falls silent.  It’s already been a long day, and it’s only two-o’clock in the afternoon.  Joonmyun and Jongdae look worse for wear, the events from today finally settling in their minds.  Everyone looked tired and worried as the information sank in for everyone.  Even though it was their choice, they couldn’t help but feel nervous for Joonmyun.

 

Kyungsoo sighs and stands up.  “I’m going to fix some lunch.  We could use some food.”

Joonmyun nods.  “Good idea.”  Kyungsoo nods and leaves for the kitchen, and Joonmyun turns to everyone else in the room.  “How is everyone else doing?”

“I’m okay,” Lu Han answers.  “I’m trying my best to not to go too far into anyone’s mind, but it’s been a habit for so long it’s hard to restrain myself.”

Yifan speaks up next.  “I’m mostly fine.  I stretch my wings every morning just to make sure they’re still there.  Zitao’s been a big help, too.”

“I,” Baekhyun’s voice cracks as he talks.  “I’m still having nightmares.”  He reaches out for Chanyeol’s hand as he continues.  “I haven’t slept through the night since we got out.”

“Baekhyun, why didn’t you say anything,”  Yifan asks.

“I thought I had it handled--”

“We’re doing fine,” Chanyeol cuts in.  “Everyone else has their own problems to sort through.  We didn’t want to burden you with ours as well.”

Joonmyun sighs and leans back into the couch, Jongdae tensing up beside him from the movement.  “We’re all supposed to recover together, Baekhyun.  That’s how the connection works.  If one link is weak we all feel it.”

“I’m not weak,” Baekhyun says softly.

“We know you’re not, Baek,” Chanyeol jumps in, squeezing Baekhyun’s hand in comfort.  “But we aren’t the only ones who can feel how tired you are.”

“If you two can’t manage it alone, let me know,” Lu Han says.  “It’s not ideal, but I can probably weed through the nightmares you’re having.”

“You went through a lot too, Han.  I don’t want to put that strain on you.”

“I’ve done worse, remember?  This is nothing in comparison to what they made me do.”

“Not to interrupt, but lunch is ready.”

 

Kyungsoo comes back into view with a tray full of sandwiches.  The group gives Kyungsoo an odd look.

 

“What?  We need to go shopping, this is all we had.”

 

Kyungsoo sets the tray down and picks one of the sandwiches up, everyone else shrugging their shoulders and following suit.  Joonmyun grabs two and hands one to Jongdae.

 

“Dae, relax.”

“I don’t think I can,” he answers as he take the sandwich from Joonmyun.  “It’s like I said earlier, just sitting this close leaves me feeling charged.”

“Do you need to discharge?”

“No, I just…..need to get used to this feeling.”

“Should I move so you can for a few minutes?”

“I think--” Jongdae cuts himself off as a few sparks roll off his forearm.  “Yeah, I think you should.”

 

Joonmyun nods and moves to the other side of the room, watching Jongdae as he sets his food to the side to try to relax.  He’s still sparking as he takes several deep breaths, letting them out slowly as he brings the static back under control.  The air in the room feels tense, only relaxing as soon as Jongdae’s shoulders drop.

 

Jongdae sighs and reaches for his food again.  Joonmyun stays on the other side.

 

~~~

 

It’s not until later that evening, after the sun has set and dinner has been served and eaten, that Jongdae and Joonmyun decide to try anything again.  They’ve moved into Joonmyun’s room for privacy, only accompanied by Yixing in case something goes wrong.  Jongdae wonders if Joonmyun’s heart is racing like his is.

 

“You don’t need to do anything major,” Yixing says to break the silence.  “It’s all about taking small steps.”

 

They nod, and Joonmyun is the one to act first.  It isn’t much, just a slight brush of his fingertips over whitened knuckles.

 

“Relax, Jongdae.”

 

He tries, Jongdae really does, but his body refuses even though his mind tells him everything is fine.  Joonmyun continues to moves his fingers over Jongdae’s hand, moving them from his knuckles to where his hand is gripping the sheets like a vice.

 

“Let go, Dae.  It’s fine.”

“I’m trying.”

 

Jongdae’s voice grits out between clenched teeth and Joonmyun sighs, moving his fingers away from his hand and traveling up his arm.  Joonmyun continues to explore with a light touch before Jongdae finally flinches away.

 

“Stop,” Jongdae grits out.  “It’s too much, I can’t-”

“You’re doing fine, Dae.”

“I don’t feel fine,” Jongdae spits out, a little harsher than intended.  “All the lightning wants to do is lash out at you and it hurts in more ways than one.”

 

Joonmyun finally pulls back and moves a little bit away from Jongdae.  There’s a small flash of hurt that passes through his eyes, but he quickly reels it back and gives Jongdae a smile.

 

“Okay.  Take your time.”

 

A shudder rips through Jongdae as he tries to contain the lightning.  He can feel it pressing against his flesh, threatening to rip out of him at any moment.  Jongdae screws his eyes shut and tries to even his breathing.  He’s struggling, and he can feel the panic rise up his throat as he grips the sheets even tighter.

 

“Jongdae?”  Joonmyun’s voice is laced with concern.

“Kyung-....Kyungsoo…..”

 

Yixing springs up and immediately grabs hold of Joonmyun’s arm.  “Get out.”

“But Jongdae--”

“But nothing,” Yixing interrupts as he drags Joonmyun out of the room.  “You stay here.”  He opens his mouth to say one more thing to Joonmyun, but stops when he hears a sob come out of the bedroom.  Instead he yells, “Kyungsoo!”

 

The commotion disturbs the crowd in the living room, all heads present turning towards them.

 

“What’s going on,” asks Jongin as Kyungsoo jumps up from his seat.

“Jongdae’s about to discharge,” Yixing gets out in a panic.

“What?!”  Kyungsoo quickly moves around the couch and pushes his way towards the room.  “Why didn’t you call me sooner?!”

“He was trying to do it himself,” Yixing follows after him.

“He’s an idiot.”

 

Kyungsoo bursts into the room and immediately invades Jongdae’s personal space, not waiting for the latter’s thoughts to catch up with him.  He takes Jongdae’s hands and slides them underneath his own shirt and holds Jongdae close as he pants.

 

“Idiot.”

“I’m sorry….I thought I’d be okay.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes as Jongdae shudders in his hold, grounding himself to Kyungsoo.  “Shut up.”

 

Kyungsoo can feel the current running between him and Jongdae, causing every hair on his body to raise a little.  It buzzes against his skin slightly more painful than usual, and he bites his lip to bear the discomfort.  He wonders how much lightning Jongdae has left as the latter continues to shudder.

 

He’s not sure how much time has passed, but suddenly the electricity in his veins stops and Jongdae falls limp in his arms.  Kyungsoo is quick to catch him and arrange him on the bed, sighing as he pushes Jongdae’s bangs out of his face.  He shakes his head and leaves Jongdae to rest, joining the others outside.  He’s immediately ambushed by Joonmyun.

 

“How is he?  Is he okay?”

“He passed out.  He must have been holding onto a lot more than he thought.”

Joonmyun tenses at Kyungsoo’s words.  “He should have said something…”

“Yeah, he should have.”  Kyungsoo flashes Joonmyun a sympathetic look before continuing.  “We know how important this is to the both of you, but you can’t put yourselves in danger for it.”  When Joonmyun doesn’t respond, he sighs and continues.  “He’ll probably be out for the night.  Why don’t you stay with him and get some rest too?  Yixing and I are one shout away.”

  

Joonmyun sighs and nods, thanking Kyungsoo as he moves past him and into the room with Jongdae.  He looks the most peaceful he has since everything had happened, and it hurts Joonmyun a little knowing that Jongdae has to be unconscious to achieve that level of peace.  He drops to his knees by the edge of the bed and watches Jongdae sleep, carefully taking his hand in his.

  

The buzzing sensation is mild, probably because Jongdae is unaware of what is going on, but it’s almost pleasant as Joonmyun rests his head on the bed.  He should move to the chair, but he can’t be bothered when he wants to be close to Jongdae when he wakes up.  He feels his eyelids grow heavier, and he sighs as he makes himself as comfortable as possible as he drifts off.

 

Before he finally succumbs to sleep, Joonmyun carefully laces their fingers together.


End file.
